Horse Trading
by The Bushranger
Summary: Champions can be cloned. Destinies can't. Buffyverse crossover, oneshot.


_Disclaimer: Butch Harman and Joss Wheldon are the ones making money off of these. Not I..._

_Timing: Buffy/Angel, after "Not Fade Away"; Danny, after "Kindred Spirits"_

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**"Horse Trading"**

Whistler hesitated before entering the gear-encrusted castle. Coming to this dimension was dangerous; not only would many of its inhabitants not hesitate to cause bodily harm (or worse), but long ago the Powers That Be had agreed with the castle's occupant that neither would meddle in the other's domain.

Of course, he _was_ here to ask permission on behalf of the Powers; there was also the fact that he'd been told the alternative to taking this assignment was having to tell a certain Slayer about the upcoming problem...

"Good evening, Whistler." A cloaked boy appeared in his path, clutching a staff topped by what looked to be an alarm clock. "I would ask what brings you to the Ghost Zone," the boy suddenly morphed into a young man, "but it's easy to guess that the Powers wish to ask a favor of me."

"I'm afraid that's exactly what it is, Clockwork."

The Master of Time nodded. "Well then, what exactly is the problem?"

The balance demon cleared his throat. "Well, ya see, there's this champion that lives in your dimension, who's gone and gotten himself cloned."

"I'm quite familiar with Danny, yes."

"Well," Whistler paused. "When a champion is cloned, the duplicate is also a champion. However the original's destiny doesn't get duplicated along with it. And a champion without a destiny causes all kinds of trouble."

Clockwork turned to a time portal, which activated, showing a young, dark-haired girl leaning against a tree in the forest. "And what 'destiny', exactly, do you propose for Danielle to have on your plane?"

"According to the prophecies, a young woman, 'neither human or spirit fully', is a major player in an upcoming apocalypse."

"I see." The hooded figure changed into an old, bearded man. "You are aware, of course, of the problems Danielle has with her powers?"

The garishly-dressed demon nodded. "Yeah, and we're pretty sure that Red - "

"No," Clockwork said sternly. "While I have no doubt in Willow's ability to repair her, I'm afraid that there would be a high element of danger for both of them." Another portal flickered briefly to life, showing a kneeling, choking Dani and a black-haired Willow. "One of my conditions for agreeing to this is that _you_ - meaning the Powers - heal her."

"_One_ of the conditions?"

"Yes, another being that she must be allowed to come of her own free will. Your Powers might be willing to play all kinds of chicanery in your dimension, but here, per our agreement, they play by _my_ rules." Clockwork paused, turning into a boy again. "And there is one final thing that must be done."

Whistler shook his head. "I know about the agreement, but - "

"I'm asking a lot? No, actually I'm asking very little, compared to what I _could_ be asking for. The final condition is that she -" Another portal activated, showing a young, brunette woman working in a lab, "- be allowed to come here."

The demon was surprised. "You want Illyria?"

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "No, I want Fred Burkle. Who the Powers allowed to be destroyed well before she was able to reach her full potential, I might add." Blurring back into the figure of a man, Clockwork shook his head. "You really have no idea what that did to the timeline, did you? No, of course not. And as long as Illyria was alive, nothing could be done about it. But now, with them both dead, Fred should be allowed to complete -" the corner of a lip quirked into a smile "- her unfinished business."

"Well," Whistler began, "I can't say the Powers are exactly happy with your demands, but they've agreed to honor your agreement." He shook his head. "Ya drive a hard bargain, ya know?"

Clockwork smiled. "Quite so. And I must say I take some pleasure in bothering the Powers, they're more annoying than the Observants are." The smile disappeared. "Now, I think it's _time_ for you to leave. Unless you'd like an 'anonymous tip' to arrive at Walker's - "

With a poof, the balance demon vanished.

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_A/N: This is what I call an "Adopt-A-Plot-Bunny Fic". If you're inspired to write a sequel(s), please feel free._


End file.
